Declare War on Police Brutality

LAS VEGAS (AP) — An unarmed man’s death after Las Vegas police grabbed him in a neck hold has put a much-criticized law enforcement technique to subdue people back in the spotlight.

Las Vegas police train to use a version of a chokehold designed to avoid restricting the airway while cutting the flow of blood to the brain, a technique the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada now believes should be off limits.

Tashii S. Brown, 40, died early Sunday outside The Venetian after a police officer used the technique. Brown became unconscious and died, despite efforts at CPR.

“We’re aware that they use this. But there has got to be another option,” ACLU executive Tod Story said Monday. “There have been people in custody who have died. It really should no longer be used.”

Brown’s death near The Venetian has drawn comparisons with the July 2014 choking death of 43-year-old Eric Garner at the hands of New York City police. A passer-by captured video of Garner pleading “I can’t breathe,” while officers pinned him to the sidewalk. His last words became a rallying cry during public protests about police use of force.

The New York Police Department — the nation’s largest — banned chokeholds in 1993.

“NYPD doesn’t want you going for the neck under any circumstances,” said Eugene O’Donnell, a former New York police officer who now teaches at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. “But many departments still use it.”
O’Donnell said handcuffing a person resisting arrest is harder than it looks, but added reaching for the neck can be dangerous.

“Carotid artery versus airway. There are a lot of variables, including the competence of the officer, the condition of the person, mental health issues, whether they’re a smoker, alcohol (use),” O’Donnell said. “In the midst of a violent interaction, it’s different from doing it in a classroom.”

About author

Filming Cops was started in 2010 as a conglomerative blogging service documenting police abuse. The aim isn’t to demonize the natural concept of security provision as such, but to highlight specific cases of State-monopolized police brutality that are otherwise ignored by traditional media outlets.